Whitchurch docked 30 points by the league

Captain Omar Ali has also been suspended for four games by the Birmingham & District League.

He was involved in a bust-up with Halesowen's overseas star Tarryck Gabriel. The Heath Road outfit were found guilty of failing to control their players during the match.

And the 30-point deduction following last month's game means they are just 17 points clear of the relegation zone in Division Two, with three fixtures to play.

"We were looking up toward promotion and now we are looking behind us," said club spokesman Liam O'Neill. "We just have to take it on the chin.

"Originally, we looked like being docked 48 points, but the hearing took into account our previous good record."

It's understood that Ali was involved in an altercation with Gabriel while batting.

The umpires' report says "the affray was joined by three or four more players from Whitchurch who had come on to the field."

Ali has received a four-match ban after being found guilty of a level 2b breach of the league code of conduct, which refers to "inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players during the course of play".

Nick Archer, general manager of the Birmingham and District Premier Cricket League, said: "Whitchurch Cricket Club's first team has received a 48-point penalty – reduced to 30 points due to previous good conduct.

"It came following a disciplinary hearing that found the club guilty of failing to control its players in the match versus Halesowen on Saturday, July 5.

"Whitchurch Cricket Club has also been warned that if there is any further incident of this nature, in league or cup competitions, for which the club is found guilty, they will be expelled from all league competitions."

Gabriel faces his own disciplinary hearing next week.

O'Neill added: "Maybe the strongly-worded statement from the league will make a few of the people at the club realise what a big league we are playing in. This is not a tin-pot competition."